How to Find a Child's Birthday Party Venue in the Washington, DC Area

When your child is very young, his birthday parties can be relatively easy to throw--just have them at home, invite a few family members, blow up a lot of balloons and get some cake and ice cream. Once your child starts school, however, he may want to invite some of his classmates, or even all of them. If your house isn't large enough to accommodate all of these kids (or you just don't want the setup and cleanup chores), you might wish to consider holding the party in another venue, one where they are used to hosting kids' birthday parties.

Instructions

1. Consider a trip to a farm for animal-loving kids. Both Clark's Elioak Farm in Ellicott City and the Old Maryland Farm in Watkins Regional Park (Upper Marlboro) offer party packages that include pony rides. Watkins Regional Park also features a miniature train, carousel, and mini golf in the summer, but parents who remember the DC/Baltimore area way back when may wish to visit Eliok Farm just to see a lot of the attractions rescued from the old Enchanted Forest (a theme park that closed back in the '80s).

2. Go for games and pizza. In most areas, your options will be limited to Chuck E. Cheese and, well, Chuck E, Cheese, since they bought out their competitors so you will no longer be able to find any Jeepers or Discovery Zone locations. If you live in (or are willing to drive to ) northern Prince George's county, though, you can hold your party at Planet Fun of Greenbelt, which is pretty much like a Jeepers (i.e. pizza, games, and a few indoor rides).

3. Take your gang out to the ballgame. Although the Washington Nationals don't offer any type of kids' birthday party packages, all of the local minor league teams do. You can celebrate a birthday at a Bowie Baysox, Frederick Keys or Potomac Cannons game with food, fun, baseball, and even (if you pick the right night) fireworks to follow. If you'd like something a bit smaller and closer to town, though, why not consider collegiate baseball? The Bethesda Big Train and Silver Spring-Takoma Thunderbolts offer birthday packages that are reasonably priced and are sure to be a lot of fun for sports-loving kids.

4. Give your girl a birthday makeover. Cartoon Cuts offers glamour parties where girls receive new hairstyles, manicures, makeup, and get to dress up as princesses or pop stars and even sing karaoke.

5. Enjoy a musical comedy production by the Now This! improv group. The shows take place at the Blair Mansion Inn (where party packages include a before-show buffet), and the performers customize each performance to include the birthday child.

6. Have your child bake his own cake. Just Cakes of Bethesda offers two party packages, one where the kids learn how to bake and decorate cakes and another one where they make pizza in addition to the cakes.

Tips & Warnings

• Some of these party packages can be pretty pricey--the cheapest ones are around $10-$12 per child, but most run at least $20 and some can run up to $50 per child or more.

• <br>Some party packages supply food, but others require you to bring your own.

• <br>Certain types of parties require a minimum number of guests.